


Meet Me Between Reality and Imagination

by hyuckieberry (95pjm)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Cuddling, Cute, Fluff, M/M, Sleep-Talking Habit, Soft feelings, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Whipped!Donghyuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-19
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2019-05-09 00:58:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14706114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/95pjm/pseuds/hyuckieberry
Summary: Jeno doesn’t really have any sleeping habits.Not unless he's tired.Verytired.





	Meet Me Between Reality and Imagination

**Author's Note:**

> just some soft nohyuck because from all those nohyuck tweets that [@risingxuxi](https://twitter.com/risingxuxi) tweeted a few days ago :'))))

Donghyuck knows Jeno usually doesn’t have any particular sleeping habits that stand out. He might softly snore from time to time, but nothing too weird. Not like Mark who raps in English or Jisung who snores so loud, Donghyuck sometimes thinks he can feel it vibrating on his skin. There’s also a boy who dorms above them named Sicheng who sleeps with his eyes open sometimes. Slightly scary. He for one, knows he sings when he’s tired and apart from that, he’s all right. He's one of the better ones, he likes to think.

Jeno doesn’t really have any sleeping habits.

Not unless he's tired. _Very_ tired.

Tired as in he literally just plops onto Donghyuck’s bed -startling the younger who had already been taking a nap beforehand- and dozing off straight away, not even letting Donghyuck ask his how the hell he got into his university dorm when the one Jeno resides in falls below them or how his sleep-deprived brain functioned enough to know which was Donghyuck’s bed, let alone room.

Not that he minds the extra company. Jeno’s a comfort Donghyuck never know he needed and maybe the fact he has a massive crush on Jeno has a lot to do it but Donghyuck likes the feeling Jeno makes him have. It’s one of the little reminders that he’s still a boy, a boy that might have to function like an adult now that he’s in university but a boy inside that's still able to feel the emotions he thought only served in teenage girls.

It’s exciting, it's nice, if not a tad scary.

He’s not going to do anything about it for now, but he’ll cross that bridge when he comes to it.

“You’re lucky I didn’t slap you, scaring me like that.” Donghyuck grumbles at the already knocked off Jeno, pushing up onto his elbow to fiddle around, placing the blanket on top of the other. He moves more towards the wall, reaching with his free arm to push Jeno closer to him, the latter whining in complaint. “Shush, you big baby.”

Once he deems them both comfortable, he looks down and flick the strands covering Jenos’ eyes, staring at him with fondness the rest of his friends tease him for. Renjun winks obnoxiously whenever he spots Donghyuck doing anything out of ordinary towards Jeno and Mark says nothing but it’s obvious with the way he hides his smile that he’s only not saying anything out of politeness.

“Why are you so handsome?” Donghyuck mutters without thinking, patting his mouth at the words that slip out. “Shit, I’m so glad you’re asleep already.”

Donghyuck ponders whether he should wake Jeno up and get the latter to dress in some comfy clothes but there’s bags under the boys’ eyes and something in Donghyuck tightens, worries clouding his thoughts. Jeno always pushed himself, and choosing his course wasn’t any different. A medical degree, Donghyuck has witness first-hand just how brutal and time-draining it is through Jeno. Hours spent covering notes and even then, it didn’t include the hours spent searching all the terminology just so it could all makes sense. Sometimes Jeno would tell him he doesn’t think he can do it, and Donghyuck would shush him, the soft side that Jeno seem to bring, coming out and showering him with encouragement until Jeno can stand again. So Donghyuck knows more than anyone, how tired Jeno is.

He thinks he can forgo waking him up then, the hoodie and loose jeans should suffice for now.

He lies back down, huddling close to Jeno and letting the laboured breathings and the soft hum from their city that is still swelling with life outside lull him to sleep.

When he next wakes up, he finds Jeno’s head tucked in his chest, the soft black hair tickling his chin and one of his leg slung over Jeno’s waist, the latter’s hand resting warmly on his bare thigh, shorts hitched up from all the tossing and turning.

He wonders what woke him up before he hears the low muttering, almost silent if it hadn’t been how quiet the room is. What was once the faint light outside from the evening has dimmed out into a just a dim glow, the sky pitched black save for the dots across it and the only significant source of brightness coming from the streetlamps that lit the pavements below.

“Jeno?” He groggily sniffles, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and leaning away a little to check on him. He finds Jeno still fast asleep but his mouth moving, jumbled assortments of words sweeping out. It seems like he’s sleep-talking and Donghyuck’s quite surprised. He’s known Jeno for what, nine years -maybe a decade- and he’s napped with him enough times to know Jeno doesn’t usually talk in his sleep.

University seems to bring out new sides, Donghyuck concludes.

He’s about to head off again when there’s a faint murmuring, and Donghyuck can’t say he’s imagining things when he hears his name being called. “Dong…hyuck…hm…soft….”

Donghyuck doesn’t know the context but it makes him blush all the same, shaking his head in amusement. He’s going to have a field day tomorrow.

He startles when the hand gripping his thigh gets tighter, Jeno humming. “Donghyuck?”

The younger would think he’s awake, judging by how clear it sounds but he knows Jeno’s still asleep, so he settles in, deciding to play along. “Yes?”

“So so…ft.” Jeno whispers, not really making any sense and Donghyuck lets out a small squeak when he proceeds to mush his face against Donghyuck’s chest, rubbing in and sighing in contentment. “Love cud-…. ling you.”

 _Cuddling_ , it didn’t take a genius to figure it out but Donghyuck feels giddy, heart starting beat a little faster for the boy who seems to have so much love to give. Donghyuck’s not naïve anymore, he might have been in high school but something about university just gives him more insight that he thought, more of a broader outlook and maybe a more idealistic approach, especially during the first year. So, he knows there’s something going on with him and Jeno.

He knows the other boy knows it too.

It’s simply a matter on who makes the first move.

“You smell nice.” Jeno bumps his nose against Donghyuck’s clavicle, the smaller letting a small giggle because it tickles. “Lo…ve your la…ugh too.”

Donghyuck wants to hit him for making him blush so much but it’s not like Jeno’s doing it on purpose, the boy is off in whatever land he’s dreaming about and he doesn’t have it in him just to wake Jeno up just because he might be having feelings that are too much for him to handle in the confinement of a bed he’s sharing.

“Stop, please.” Jeno says, and Donghyuck wonders what he’s dreaming about to elicit such words. He sighs, making himself more comfortable and using one hand to rest beneath his head while the other plays with Jenos' hairs. “You’re….be…too…cute.”

Donghyuck stifles a laugh, rolling a strand of Jeno’s hair between his fingers as his friend whines, snuffling in a sulk. Clearly dream-Donghyuck must have said something. He peaks down and sees Jeno’s lips jutting into a pout and he knows then that dream-Donghyuck must have definitely gave a sarcastic remark.

When Jeno incoherently starts speaking again, Donghyuck feels a little guilty. He should really stop listening in and taking advantage of the situation (no matter how cute Jeno's being). Donghyuck tosses to face the wall, about to calm down and go back to napping when it seems his action didn’t sit well with Jeno.

Because suddenly, he changes his position as well, scuffling and rustling the blanket covering above them. He ends up moving up, and abruptly, Donghyuck feels Jeno’s breath blowing softly against the hairs near his neck, the wispy air making him shiver as it touches his skin. Jeno’s relocated so he’s spooning Donghyuck, an arm previously resting on his thigh, now over his waist and his chest solidly against Donghyuck’s back.

 _The boy is out to kill him,_ Donghyuck swears.

“Stay.”

Sleeping Jeno is more dramatic, Donghyuck thinks, smiling small. He knows Jeno can’t hear it but nonetheless, he moves so he’s holding the hand that is slung on his waist, grasping it and playing with his fingers as he whispers back. “I will, idiot.”

He doesn’t think Jeno will reply but it’s a few minutes later than Jeno mumbles, Donghyuck feeling the movement of his lips against his nape and sending another shiver through him. “Pro-mise?”

It’s an easy answer. “Promise.”

Donghyuck suppresses a giggle when Jeno smiles, huffing out a laugh lightly and wishing he recorded all this. It’s too adorable.

“Go…od.” Jeno mutters, voice trailing off slowly. “Cause….I…rea…lik….you…”

Donghyuck stills.

 _Oh_.

He takes in a sharp breath. Donghyuck has an inkling about what Jeno just said but he’s glad it all got messed up. Donghyuck doesn’t think he wants to hear it right now. It's probably stupid of him to do so since Donghyuck already knows what he’ll say, how he feels and how easy it will be to just go along with it. But there’s a time and place for that and no matter how much he adores this Jeno who simply doesn't seem to have a filter and spew whatever he thinks, he doesn’t really think it makes a good setting for a confession to take place when one of them is asleep. It’s not fair on Jeno.

He does smile in glee, just because he can't help it.

(Maybe tomorrow. When they're both awake.)

For now though, he’ll say nothing. He'll simply close his eyes, grip on the hand held against his tighter, and dream about a boy who brings him sunshine on a rainy day.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> scream about nohyuck (or donghyuck in general lmao) at me on **[twitter](https://www.twitter.com/heavenleehyuck)**!  
>  hope you enjoyed this small drabble <333


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